Статья: DOSTOEVSKY IN JAPANESE TRANSLATIONS: THE PROBLEM OF TEXTUAL IMAGES (2024)

This paper aims at critically observing the alternating concatenation of seasonally inspired numbers and Japanese legends from time immemorial in the show Sekkashō (「雪華抄」, Snowflake Anthology), staged by the Japanese all-female musical company Takarazuka Revue’s Flower Troupe in late 2016. The goal is to disclose some of the strategies employed by Takarazuka Revue’s administrators in pursuing a necessary agenda of breaking with the tradition while steadily moving forward towards a future of self-reinvention, without disappointing the deeply conservative fans’ vast community. The analysis occurs both historically and systematically: on the one hand, the year 2016 was a “bridge” year between 2015, with its two major reconfigurations of the decadelong image of Takarazuka Revue as a bastion of shōjo culture firmly anchored in a delusional past and its stubborn rejection of common sense as well as historical reality, and 2017, with its blatant reconfiguration of soft power priorities in terms of theatrical representation; on the other hand, Sekkashō itself is a symbolical gem of Takarazuka Revue’s most typical features, signifying an effective yet dignified statement of not so much criticizing the past, but releasing oneself from its almighty grasp so that one can change the direction of the present towards a type of future different than the familiar flows of history so far

The article is devoted to the study of a little-known scroll by the 18 th century Japanese artist Shiba Kōkan1. The provenance of the scroll and the reasons for its poor study are considered. The main attention is paid to the analysis of the history of the scroll and the symbolism of three elements of images on it: wave, triad, and flame-fire. These three elements are important components of the Japanese cultural and artistic code, forming it since ancient times while changing over time and retaining their significance in contemporary culture. The multiple meanings of the symbolism of the images on the scroll allow us to propose at least two possibilities for its interpretation: as a separate and independent work and as an illustration of the artist’s diary-pamphlet written by him at the end of his life. In this article, we deal primarily with the first possibility. The duality of the perception of the wave and the sea in the cultural code is reflected in the scroll. The islanders realized the sea not only as a physically surmountable barrier, but also as a kind of translator of information. The central part of the scroll depicts a meeting at the table of three wise men from Japan, China and the West, which is analogous to the illustration of the famous Chinese parable Three Wise Men Tasting Vinegar. The article analyzes in detail the portraits of the three participants of the meeting, considers possible prototypes of the Japanese character and the collective images of the Chinese and the European ones, confirmed by the carefully studied symbolism of their appearance, as well as the objects spread out in front of them. The burning Buddhist pagoda depicted at the top of the scroll and the three groups of people trying to extinguish it seem to be an allegory for the gathering around the table. It is also seen in the use of different ways and means of extinguishing the fire by groups of Japanese, Chinese, and Europeans. It seems that the scroll also has Buddhist connotations. The image reflects the irony, mockery, and laughter, which are among the characteristics of Edo culture. The final part of the article speculates on the possible dating and authorship of the scroll

Secular book printing began to spread in Japan since the beginning of the 17 th century. From the middle of the 17 th century, woodcut was completely dominant. The repertoire of publications was wide, including old texts written long before the Tokugawa period. Since commercial printing assumed that the book would be bought, only relevant old texts were published. The printed edition significantly expanded the circle of book readers. The Seiashō (Notes by a Frog from a Well) by Tonna (1289–1372) belongs to the karon genre (treatises on poetry) and is a guide for aspiring poets writing waka (Japanese songs). The text was published for the first time in 1648 and the first illustrated edition appeared in 1686, reprinted in 1709. The illustrator is believed to be Hishikawa Moronobu (1618–1694), although the book does not contain the artist’s name. The second illustrated edition dates back to 1752. This edition uses illustrations by Tachibana Morikuni (1679–1748). In both editions, illustrations are made on separate sheets, occupying a whole page. The illustrations are monochrome and include a drawing (a landscape illustrating the text of the poem) and an inscription of the poem at the top. An analysis and comparison of these two editions makes it possible to see some trends related to both printing itself and a number of more general cultural issues. The understanding of authorship receives a “visible” embodiment: in the first edition, neither the author of the text, nor the artist are identified, while the colophon of the second edition contains the names of both. During the time that has elapsed between the release of these two editions, the role of illustrations has grown significantly. The edition from the end of the 17th century contains 24 illustrations, and the book was made in such a way that it can exist in a version without illustrations; there, illustrations play a supporting role. The edition of the mid-18 th century contains 80 illustrations, and they can be distributed in the text of the book or concentrated in one place, making this edition close to the ehon books

Prime Minister Abe Shinzō inherited Russian policy from his father, Abe Shintarō, former Foreign Minister who endeavored to improve substantially Japan-Russia relations with Gorbachev. Consequently when Abe was reelected as Prime Minister in December 2012, Russian policy was one of his highest policy objectives. This analysis follows chronologically how his policy developed during the eight years of Prime Minister-ship until September 2020 when he retired. It gives overall perspectives on how he enlarged the scope of relationship from economic, cultural, security, ultimately tackling the most difficult issue of peace treaty negotiations. In November 2018 at his meeting with Putin in Singapore he proposed to resolve the territorial issue based on the 1956 Joint Declaration and for a while the negotiations proceeded well. But soon after, the two sides came apart in furthering closer ties. Two years after his retirement Abe was tragically assassinated. But in these two years, Abe left a testimony over his policy he covered as Prime Minister, to groups of journalists. Hokkaido Shimbun, which followed most meticulously Abe’s Russian policy published already a ground breaking book while he was still alive, including an important interview Abe made in December 2021. But another group of journalists primarily of Yomiuri Shimbun made a long interview on Abe’s overall policy agendas, Russian policy being one of the focal points, narrated surely without any anticipation of his tragic ending. Yomiuri Journalists published in 2023 all Abe’s account, which Abe surely expected to be published in much later stage. This paper’s analysis is primarily based on those so far little-known Yomiuri narrative. The author concludes that what remains as most impressive is Abe’s conviction that drastically improving relations with Russia is in Japan’s national interest and his tireless energy to have pursued his wide and deep scope of Japan’s relations with Russia including the most difficult issue of a peace treaty conclusion.

Mongolia is a landlocked country in East Asia, which has a number of advantages related to its geographical location, abundance of natural resources, openness to foreign capital, and dynamic development due to the market reforms carried out in the 1990s. This determines the interest in the country from China and Japan and the inclusion of Mongolia among the platforms of global competition between these largest Asian economies. Development of Japan-Mongolia and China-Mongolia political and economic relations in the second half of the 20 th century and Mongolia’s economic progress in recent decades have coincided with increasing competition between Japan and China in the world stage. At present, both countries are important trading partners for Mongolia and sources of capital needed to build its infrastructure and integrate it into global supply and production chains. The study of Sino-Japanese interaction in Mongolia may help us understand how Japan and China compete with each other in the world stage and to specify their areas of specialization and rivalry. The objective of this research is to show, taking infrastructure projects as an example, how the global competition between Japan and China unfolds in Mongolia. In order to evaluate the current state of economic relations between Mongolia and each of the countries, in the first part, the author traces the history of Japan-Mongolia and China-Mongolia relations from the establishment of diplomatic relations to the present time, focusing on infrastructure projects.The second part analyzes the interaction between Japan and China in Mongolia in the context of their growing economic competition. The study sheds light on particular areas of rivalry, while demonstrating that Japanese and Chinese projects not only compete but also complement each other.